If you’ve been hunting for a premium vacuum tube integrated amplifier, the Octave V80SE should be at the top of your list. All previous Octave amplifiers we’ve used are built like a mid-80s S-Class Mercedes, i.e. to last forever, and have a slick, stark aesthetic that’s at home anywhere. Available in matte black or silver, the V80SE has an MSRP of $13,500. You can add the Black Box ($1,500) or the Super Black Box ($3,500) for even more performance.

This amplifier delivers 120 watts per channel into 4-ohms, and while it’s been here, we found it able to drive every speaker at our disposal with ease, from traditionally power hungry Magnepans to the extremely efficient Zu and Heretic speakers.

Taking advantage of a quartet of KT150 tubes to deliver the music, Octave amplifiers (including our reference V110SE/Super Black Box) are manually biased and offer long tube life as well. There is a complex protection system built in, should there ever be a tube failure, so there’s no chance of speaker damage in the unlikely event of a tube failure.

While not sterile like some of today’s current tube designs trying to sound like solid-state amplifiers, the V80SE is not overly warm sounding either. It has the tonal saturation and airiness that you go to tubes for, yet has tremendous bass extension and grip.

A mixture of single-ended and balanced inputs make it easy to incorporate into your system, and straightforward controls, along with an awesome remote control (only volume up and down) make it a great listening partner.

The Black Box and Super Black boxes offer more power supply capacitance and connect via umbilical cord to the back of the amplifier, giving it more dynamic ability, and more control over lower impedance speakers. We’ve got an extensive review out shortly, but for all but those having the most expensive tastes, you can build an incredible system around this integrated.

The V110SE is a staff favorite (and a reference component) and the V80SE takes every aspect of the V110SE to an even higher level of performance. (photos courtesy of Octave.de)

www.octave.de

We just received a pair of the latest Ultra Evolution Towers from SVS, which is the smallest of three new floorstanding speakers that reflect their latest design upgrades: Time aligned drivers, diamond coated tweeters, and much more!

Here’s a link to our latest YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReSu4BpYA60

And there is a full, in-depth review in process as well.

Of course, the big news is that now you can get Pass components in black. This is a good thing considering how many people have passed on conrad-johnson gear over the years because the champagne color does not match anything else in their system.

The more significant news is how great these amplifiers sound. though these are Pass Labs’ smallest monoblock amplifiers, they still weigh about 90 pounds per chassis. If you aren’t familiar, each Pass amplifier always has its own unique sonic character, and the XA60.8s is no different – with the pair having much of the lush, texture-laden presentation of the XA25, combined with the LF grip and control, offered by the larger Class-A monoblocks.

Incidentally, this is what the “A” designation means. The XA60 monos are claimed to deliver 60 watts per channel into an 8-ohm load in full class-A

conditions. Other magazines that produce measurements confirm this to be true, revealing these amplifiers can produce over double this amount of power before distortion sets in.

The catch? They gently switch their bias current to class-AB operation. The big, blue circular meter on the front panel stays in the middle of its range while the amplifier stays in class-A mode, bouncing to the right as it exits into class-AB.

When driving MartinLogan ESP 9s, the Team Fink Borg (episode 2), and the Clarisys Audio Auditorium Plus speakers, the meters never left the center position. Only when driving the new power-hungry Magnepan 2.7X speakers were we able to push the XA60.8s into class-AB mode.

In short, the definition throughout the frequency range is incredible, with an equally sublime rendition of higher frequencies to match. Pass Labs’ class-A amplifiers all have a mid-band rendition that nearly fools you into thinking you’re listening to tubes, and these amplifiers even a bit more. The level of detail, layering, and ability to create a three-dimensional sound field is incredible – the lessons learned in creating the flagship XS Monos certainly are at work here.

Having used nearly all of the big Pass amplifiers over the last decade, there’s a sweetness here that doesn’t even exist in the mighty (nearly 100k/pair) XS Monos. As mentioned earlier – each Pass amplifier has its own sonic signature.

These are absolutely lovely and, at this price, a tremendous value as well. If you’d like to read an in-depth review, these amplifiers are featured in our current issue.

www.passlabs.com

$14,250/pair (silver)

$15,250/pair (black)